Dave MWC

A friend is giving me an Epson Stylus Pro 3800, no cost (he says the jets are clogged). Is it worth spending some money on (how much?). Does it produce really good photo prints if working well?

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

/Users/michaelbrown/Desktop/Untitled Export/Epson ET-7700 Cleaning.pdf

This cleaning tutorial my wife put together might help you "clean your jets."

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

It produces excellent prints when working well. You may need to replace the print head $$$.

Bill_de Loc: US

When my 3800 started acting up the repair was going to cost quite a bit. It was better, with rebates and trade in, to buy the newer version, the P800. For the trade in all they wanted was a photo of the old label with serial number.

In case you didn't know, a set of ink is around $500.00

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JBRIII

There are kits produced specifically for cleaning, each designed to the printer. Check we.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

Don't waste you time. You will end up with old technology and a new print head will cost more than a new SC P-900. Also you might want to check the availability of Epson Stylus Pro 3800 drivers for whatever operating system you are using.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

You might try this with a P-900 also.

Photomac Loc: The Dalles, Or

I had a 3800 and hadn't used it for over 3 years. Took it to the repair shop in Portland, Or. who had cleaned it before. Initially he told me I was nuts for trying and wanted $50.00 to even look at it. Clogged of course and I'm sure, dried. I had enough ink in the cartridges to give it a go. I did and combined with some old cartridges he had lying around, we finally got it to work. I can't tell you how many cycles it took, but still using it 4 years later. I would not spend any money to replace the head. By the time you factor in new inks, and the head, you will have exceeded the next difference between a new printer/technology and better color that comes with a supply of ink and the price of new printer.

jeff1234 Loc: Kirkland, WA

I have the larger and slightly newer model, the 4880. The head can be cleaned by releasing the head, dripping distilled water on the landing pads and mopping up until the effluent is mostly clear, then wetting a thin microfiber cloth with distilled water, placing it on the area the head runs over, and running the head over it, moving to a clean spot on the cloth until there is not much ink on the new spot.

Then do a clean using the utility software. The head is probably good for tens of thousands of prints.

Geosailor Loc: Rockport, Maine

Similar to the OP, I was just given a 3800 that is in good working condition, that is, it successfully prints good quality test pages from within the printer menu. No clogs, etc. However, although I’ve downloaded the Windows 10 driver from Epson, which loads successfully, I cannot get my laptop to communicate via the USB connection. The laptop has USB-C connections, so I’m using the USB-A adapter. Have tried 2 different cables and adapters with the same response, or lack thereof. First clue of likely trouble was that the computer did not “auto-detect” the printer when installing the driver - so I’m winging it manually - and clearly doing a poor job…

My question is whether anyone is successfully using the printer via a USB-C to USB-A adapter as part of the cable connection with Windows 10 - as I suspect that’s the issue. The web is filled with folks who have had similar frustration and some seem to have gotten it to work. The original owner used the hard wired network connector; however, he unfortunately passed on a few years ago, so I’m trying to get it working again without the benefit of his advice, or his computer.

Would be a shame to see it go the same way as my old Epson scanner, as it was no longer supported by Windows 10 either. Any advice would be much appreciated.